Hey board friends, here's something that I've wanted to do for a while, a definitive how-to for installing the sort of dreads that I make.

Firstly, I would say that if you are self-installing, I have found it immeasurably helpful to section the hair before braiding the dreads in. Yes, you use twice as many rubber bands, but I think it's worth it. Section your hair according to the dread density guide.

Dread Density Guide
The density of installed dreads should vary depending where on the head they are. Density means how close the dreads are together, or how many there are per square inch, say. Doing it this way means that bald-spots and scalp showing is reduced, and you need less dreads (and therefore there's less weight) to achieve a nice, full look, whether you wear your dreads down or in updos. In this diagram, you can see the green areas, where the dreads should be installed as close together as possible. In the yellow bits they should be spaced out a bit, and in the red bits even more.

Dread Length Guide
The nature of making wool dreads is that there is often a variation in length between the longest and shortest dreads in a set. I send my dreads out already ordered in bundles by length, but it's easy enough to do by yourself, just gather up one end of each dread into a bundle, and beginning with the longest ones, pull them out and bundle them in even numbers.
To achieve a pretty look with layered dreads, install them according to the chart below, with the longest ones at the crown and the shorter ones underneath and framing the face.